The present invention relates to a side vehicle-body structure of an automotive vehicle, in which a wheel is configured to be displaced outward relative to a side sill by a swing action of a wheel support member, such as an arm, when an object collides with the wheel.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram which shows a move of a conventional automotive vehicle when an object collides with a wheel of the vehicle, in which a wheel hits against a tip of a side sill. In a narrow-range collision (hereafter, referred to as a “small overlap collision”) in which the vehicle has a head-on collision at a range of 25% or less from an outward end, in a vehicle width direction, of a vehicle body toward a vehicle-body center in a front view, in order to suppress interference (contact) of a wheel 100 with a tip of a side sill 101 as shown in FIG. 14, it may be required to displace the wheel 100 outward relative to the side sill 101 by using a swing action of an arm 102 so that it can be prevented or relieved that the tip of the side sill 101 and the wheel 100 interfere (contact) with each other, thereby properly suppressing longitudinal deformation of a vehicle compartment.
In this case, the following situation has been found. That is, the wheel having been displaced outward relative to the side sill pushes the side sill laterally from vehicle outside with some pressing force, so that load on a connection portion of the side sill extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction and a cross member provided to extend in the vehicle width direction and connect to the side sill increases. Accordingly, it may be required to increase the rigidity of the connection portion of the cross member and the side sill so as to suppress the deformation of the vehicle compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,067,627 discloses a vehicle-body front structure which comprises a pair of right-and-left lower arms which support right-and-left front wheels, a first lateral member which interconnects respective rear-side support portions of the right-and-left lower arms provided at a vehicle body, a second lateral member which interconnects respective front-end-side portions of a pair of right-and-left side sills, and a connection structure which integrally connects the first lateral member and the second lateral member, whereby a lateral load can be generated via the lower arms in the small overlap collision.
According to the conventional structure disclosed in the above-described patent document, however, the first and second lateral members and their connection structure may increase the weight of the vehicle body improperly, and also the above-described patent document refers to nothing about the above-described situation where the wheel having been displaced outward relative to the side sill pushes the side sill laterally from the vehicle outside with some pressing force.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-144658 discloses a vehicle-body front structure which comprises a sub frame which supports lower arms constituting a suspension and a protruding member which is provided at a front end portion of the sub frame to protrude outward beyond the sub frame and configured to press a front portion side of a front wheel such that when a load is inputted from vehicle front side, the protruding member is moved rearward by the inputted load and a rear portion side of the front wheel is moved outward, whereby the front wheel can be moved outward in the small overlap collision.
The above-described second patent document, however, discloses nothing about the situation where the wheel having been displaced outward relative to the side sill pushes the side sill laterally from vehicle outside with some pressing force, either.